Misson Accomplished!

WARNING: Partial Nudity Follows. Parental Guidance is Advised.


SPLIT PANTS!!!!!!!!

I can't believe I saw these today at Tian'anmen Square! In case you're wondering why I'm so excited (because I recognize the fact that blogger has distorted the image enough that you can't see the little Asian bottom coming out of the middle of these pants) Katie asked me to be on the lookout for split pants while I am in China, and I have finally found a decent image of them! They are pants for children that have a split right down the center so that the children can do their thing anyplace, anytime. All they have to do it squat whereever they are. They evidently are more popular in other parts of China that where I am, so that's why I was so excited to actually get a picture of some! (Don't worry; they were not in use.)

There weren't any tanks there today, thank goodness. It's really neat though, to be someplace that you know has hosted the event of a huge political/social movement. Like the Bastille, but maybe a little more recent feeling.

The outside of the Forbidden City. It's kinda like going to Disney World. Except no trams, 1/10 the size, and 10 times the people. You will notice only one picture of me today and you will be disappointed by that one picture. This is because there is no room to take a picture of yourself. So I didn't bother trying. I spent the day with my arm raised above everyone's head clicking the button on my camera, hoping something came out. That's pretty well all you could do today. Maybe if we had gone during the week it would have been better. I bet there was at least 1 million people there today. Unbelievable. The emperer's throne. I really thought I had seen the most extravagant waste of money ever known to man when I saw Versailles. Nope. This takes the cake. I can't believe the people didn't rebel and burn it down. This place is unbelievable. It's enormous and everything is so ornate...I'm assuming all hand carved, painted, etc. as well. Please appreciate this picture; I had to compromise my typically passive, non agressiveness to push my way up close enough to hold my camera up to the window and hope I was getting it in the picture.
All of the people. There's so many of them. I don't know where they all come from! It was like hearding cattle, but probably more dangerous.

My "artsy" shot of the fountains. I wish I hadn't gotten John's sleeve in the photo. These were plastered on the sides of every building, layers upon layers of them. They had running water going through them back in the day, and the piping system acually reused the same water over and over and over again. This is quite the engineering feat for this time.

The lone picture I took of myself today. Completely overwhelmed. I walked around with this look on my face for the majority of the trip this morning. There were just SO. MANY. PEOPLE. But still, let me reiterate the idea that is was absolutely amazing to see.


Alright, I have a mystery for you to solve. (Actually, I know the answer because I googled it...but I want you to guess without looking at any references.)

Name this fruit:

I had no idea what it was, and Anne didn't know the english name for it, so I ended up googling it tonight to find out. I kinda kicked myself when I found out, but I had never seen or eaten one before...only heard of them.

Oh, and when in doubt, there's always room service. YUM-O.

I could only eat half of the burger though, because I'm just not used to eating that much food anymore. I have weighed myself on two separate scales in two separate hotels now, and unless they are both incorrect, I have lost 10 lbs since I've been here. It's not that I'm not eating, I think it's mostly just what I'm eating. There is no grease in anything here. It's all just rice and vegetables, and the veggies are always cooked in water. I gorge on breads for breakfast every morning, but it still just doesn't seem to make a difference. The first thing I will eat when I get back home will be a steak at Texas Roadhouse, cooked medium rare with a side of mashed potatoes and greenbeans. I can think of nothing better than that right now.